Cabin in the Woods
by LemonStar
Summary: ..Daryl/Beth.. AU - no zombies. He calls after her, but she keeps on walking without sparing a look back in his direction. She knows he won't follow after her. He's not the type. He's the type to watch his girlfriend storm out into the unknown and not do anything to stop her besides shouting her name; as if that will do anything.
1. Chapter 1

**Here we go. My newest multi-chapter story. I hope you like the first chapter!**

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…

 **One.**

"Beth!"

He calls after her, but she keeps on walking without sparing a look back in his direction. She knows he won't follow after her. He's not the type. He's not the type to run after her and beg her to stay. He's the type to watch his girlfriend storm out into the unknown and not do anything to stop her besides shouting her name; as if that will do anything.

"You're being stupid!"

And that definitely won't do anything either.

Beth Greene hikes the strap of her gym bag further up onto her shoulder and continues storming; so angry at the moment, she hardly actually sees anything around her.

"Beth, seriously? Fine!"

She hears the door to their cabin slam shut and then it's quiet again. Well, he certainly tried to convince her to come back inside.

What a jerk. Jimmy Beauford-Butler is _such_ a jerk. No. More than a jerk. Beth needs to channel her older sister, Maggie, in this moment. Jimmy Beauford-Butler is an _ass_. Yes, that's much better.

Beth exhales a deep breath. Her heart is pounding in her chest and is actually beginning to hurt a little and Beth stops walking so she can try to catch it and calm down. She blinks quickly once she feels the stinging of tears in her eyes because there are a list of things she refuses to do tonight and crying is definitely on the list.

She doesn't know why she's so upset or so disappointed. What had she been expecting? Deep down, she knows the answer though she's not ready to admit it. Honestly, she had been expecting Jimmy to propose to her this weekend. What her answer would be, she still doesn't know, but she had honestly thought that that was why Jimmy had planned this weekend getaway for them. He had seemed to go all out. Renting them an impressive – yet still cozy – cabin for the weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountain chain in Northern Georgia because he knew that she had always wanted to do something like that. And the cabin had even had a hot tub on the back deck.

There had been champagne and candles and flowers and… well, what girl _wouldn't_ expect their boyfriend of almost two years to propose with a setting like that?

The further she walks down the dark road, heading only God knows where, the angrier she gets and surprisingly, her blind rage isn't directed at Jimmy. At least, not _all_ of it. Mostly, she's angry at herself. She should have known better. She _had_ known better. She and Jimmy might have been together for almost two years now, but for the past six or so of those months, they've been edging apart.

Beth supposes that's what happens in relationships when the two people have been together for so long and they both know it's not going anywhere else even if they don't talk about it.

Slowly, spending Friday and Saturday nights together just didn't become as important. Texting each other throughout the day had stopped, too. When the theater that shows old movies in their neighborhood showed the Rodgers and Hammerstein's _State Fair_ , Beth hadn't even thought to waste her breath asking Jimmy, knowing that he hates musicals and would never go with her – and that should have been a big enough red flag for her to end the relationship because who, in their right mind, hates musicals – so she had dragged her best friend, Rosita, with her instead.

She has far more fun with Rosita than Jimmy anyway. Another red flag.

Looking back on it all – the entire two years – she and Jimmy just liked being in a relationship and they got comfortable with one another. She certainly didn't believe that they loved each other – not anymore. So what if he actually taken her up here to propose marriage to her tonight? If she doesn't even love him, surely she wouldn't have been stupid enough to become his _wife_.

She doesn't even know though and that's a bit terrifying to her; that she doesn't know how she would have answered if he had proposed. Obviously, she would have said no. But why isn't her brain seeming more emphatic about that?

Not that she has _anything_ to worry about. Not anymore. Because Jimmy hadn't planned this weekend to propose to her. Oh, no. That level of romance is giving Jimmy Beauford-Butler far too much credit. Instead, her ex-boyfriend has gone through all of this trouble, planning this weekend away, for one reason and one reason only. After two years, he thinks that she owes him something; something she has never felt fully ready to do. She knows she's considered "weird" by today's womanly standards, but she doesn't care. She's twenty-five, she's a virgin and she is in absolutely no hurry to have sex anytime soon.

When they began dating, Jimmy had understood that. She's religious, yes. She goes to church every Sunday and sings in the choir and she believes in God and Heaven and Hell, but that's not why she's been holding off on sex.

She's waiting for love. It's as simple as that. She's waiting for someone to love and for herself to love that person in return more than anything in the world.

Maggie and Rosita have both told her – more than once – that she reads too many romance novels and watches too many romance movies. Life just isn't like that and best just get her first time over and done with. Beth absolutely hates when they say that. Just because they did that, doesn't mean that just having sex is something that Beth should do, too.

She doesn't see anything wrong with wanting to wait for the absolutely perfect person and the absolutely perfect time.

"Perfect doesn't exist, Bethy," Maggie tells her.

Beth is always sure to promptly ignore her older sister when she says that.

She knows nothing is perfect, but things can be close.

... Can't they be?

Storming away on some dark mountain road obviously isn't the smartest thing she could have done. Especially since it now has begun to snow. And not just snowing flurries either. These are heavy, wet snowflakes – the perfect sort to build snowmen with; the worst sort to shovel.

Beth stops right in her tracks and for the first time, takes a look around at where she is. Or, rather, where she _isn't_. And right now, she doesn't seem to be a round any kind of civilization. The road Jimmy had driven them up to the cabin, just a few hours earlier, had been definitely the road less traveled and she doubted that it saw much use at all. They are in the mountains, after all, and except for the pockets of cabins and little tourist towns, there doesn't seem to be much else.

Beth feels her entire body go cold then and it has absolutely nothing to do with the snow or the rapidly dropping temperature that she can feel through her puffy goose-down winter coat.

A wolf.

Somewhere, sounding too close for comfort, there is a wolf howling.

Beth spins back in the direction of where she had just stomped. She could go back to the cabin. She couldn't have walked more than two miles. She can go back to the cabin where it's safe and warm and she can just ignore Jimmy… as they proceed to get completely snowed in.

No. She'd much rather take her changes with the wolf, if she's being honest, then being stuck in a cabin with Jimmy Beauford-Butler for any extended amount of time. Especially after tonight.

She can't be that far from the bottom of the road anyway. She's walked so long already. How much further can it possibly be? Jimmy had said that he had rented this particular cabin because of the seclusion and he wanted to be completely alone with her this weekend with no one else around – which had sounded romantic at the time, but now, thinking back, Beth thinks it sounds a little too Lifetime movie for her.

Beth releases a heavy sigh.

Honestly, Beth. Just what were you thinking? What kind of girl wants to come to a completely secluded cabin with their boyfriend for the weekend?

She sighs again.

The kind of girl who's completely in love with her boyfriend and when it's just the two of them, who needs the world because just being with him, it feels like the entire world already?

Maybe Maggie and Rosita are right after all. Maybe Beth _does_ read too many romance novels.

The wolf howls again and Beth begins walking down the mountain road again. The snow is falling steady and fast and is already packing itself onto the ground. She is wearing her boots and has to start lifting her foot with each step. This is not good, she's points out the obvious to herself, but she keeps walking downwards. She can't possibly be that far away from the bottom. She'll see the lights of a house or store or even the headlights of a passing car soon enough.

 _Please, God_ , she speaks to herself. _Please make it soon enough_.

She squints her eyes in front of her as if that will help with anything she's trying to do. With the snow falling, she can't really make out the road anymore. Not that there really had been a road. More like a gravel access road, but with the snow, she can't determine which is road and which the woods that surround her are.

No. This definitely is not good.

 _Hi, God, me again_ , Beth speaks once more to herself. _Please keep me alive and safe. I really don't want to go back to Jimmy… even if I was able to find my way back to him and the cabin right now._

Beth takes a deep breath and forces her heart to stay steady. This is bad, yes, but it could be worse. How, she's not exactly sure, but she knows that it could be. It can always be worse.

As if hearing her and deciding to give her an answer, the wolf howls again.

…

Daryl Dixon lets out a whistle and within seconds, his dog has obediently come bounding back towards him through the trees, abandoning the scent of whatever animal he was trailing after.

He smiles down at the beast and rubs one of his gloved hands behind the massive grey-furred beast's ears.

When he had found the pup out here, following its pained cries, Daryl had no idea what he would find. It sounded like a wolf, but if it was, where was the rest of the pack? Daryl got his answer soon enough when he came to the wolf pup, finding that somehow, it had gotten it's paw good and stuck between two of the boulders at the creek's bedside. He was whining and crying out miserably and it was obvious to Daryl that the others had abandoned him, to starve and die. Daryl was surprised that another bigger predator hadn't made a feast of him already.

The pup had growled and nipped at his fingers as he tried to get him free.

"Would you knock it off?" Daryl growled right back. "I'm tryin' to save you and you'd see that if you weren't so stupid."

And to this day, Daryl swears. The wolf pup stopped and actually stared at him; incredulous as if this person _dared_ to call him stupid.

"There," Daryl said and the pup got himself away from the creek as fast as he could on three legs. Once he was a safe distance away, he plopped down again and began licking at his now-free paw.

Daryl watched for a moment and then approached the pup again.

"Alrigh'. Le's take a look at it," he said, crouching down. This time, the pup remained quiet and still as Daryl gingerly looked him completely over. "Might take you to the vet. Jus' to make sure you're good to go."

And as if the pup understood that Daryl was still just trying to help him, he allowed himself to be scooped up into Daryl's arms and Daryl carried him through the trees, back to his cabin and to where his truck was parked so he could be taken to the vet in town.

The vet had given the pup a clean bill of health and then felt the need to tell Daryl what he already knew. The wolf was a wild animal and he would run off to find his pack again once Daryl got back home. Daryl knew it and he couldn't explain the heaviness in his chest he felt from that. How could he possibly be attached to this animal after just an hour?

But it seemed like the wolf pup had gotten attached to Daryl in just that time, too, because when they got back home, Daryl set the pup down on the ground.

"Well, go on then," Daryl urged him, but the pup just sat there, looking up at Daryl. "You're a lil' useless thing, huh?"

The pup snorted at that.

When Daryl turned to go into his cabin, the pup followed him up the steps and went inside, too. Daryl expected him to want to be gone by the next day, but he stayed and after three days, Daryl went to the Costco and bought the pup a fifty pound bag of food and named him Bullseye. And Bullseye's been with him since.

"What were you at sniffin', huh?" Daryl now asks his wolf. "I didn't see any animal tracks."

Bullseye nudges his hand and then his thigh, taking a step back and looking at him, the great wolf's gray tail swaying back and forth. He then leans in and nudges Daryl's hand one more; this time, accompanying it with a little whine.

"What'd you find?" Daryl asks, swinging his crossbow from his shoulder into his hands. "We gotta get back home. Snow's comin' fast."

Bullseye just whines again and then turns himself in a circle before his eyes fall back on Daryl.

"Alrigh'," Daryl resigns. "Go on and show me."

With that, Bullseye turns and runs through the trees, Daryl trying to keep up despite the snow. There's already a few inches on the ground and with the way it's falling, it wouldn't surprise him if come tomorrow morning, he's completely snowed in up here.

Not that he minds. His cabin is good and stocked for however long he's stuck up here. And he doesn't have to worry about work, not having a normal nine-to-five job anyway. Someone's rented his second cabin from him for the weekend and the next season of shooting for _Georgia Bare_ doesn't start for another month. He has all the time in the world to be snowed in.

Bullseye has come to a stop at a shape on the ground that Daryl can't make out. It's technically still daytime, bordering on dusk, but with the heavy gray snow clouds, it's darker than it should be usually at this time and it takes Daryl a second or two for his eyes to adjust.

It's not an animal, but if it's not an animal, what the hell else would it be?

Daryl slowly approaches it and then crouches down beside it. Bullseye is nudging the shape with his snout and whining. Daryl puts his hand out and touches the still shape. It's a person. Slowly, he rolls them over onto their back so he can get a look at them. Not just a person, but it's a girl. A girl with a cut on her forehead. He instantly looks around, but even if there is blood, the snow has long covered it up already.

Daryl goes back to looking at the girl. She's wearing a knit cap on her head, but her hair is in two braids and Daryl can see that it's a light shade. When there's actually light, Daryl will bet it's blonde. But that's the last thing on his mind right now. How did she get hurt and get knocked out. Is there someone else out here? Did someone else hurt her? Was she trying to get away from them? Where he lives, it's not exactly a high foot-traffic area. Hell, he usually doesn't see people until he _wants_ to see them and takes his truck down to the town at the base of the mountain.

Where the hell did she come from?

Daryl lifts his eyes and looks to Bullseye and Bullseye stands there, staring at him in return.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Daryl asks the girl even though she won't answer him.

Daryl doesn't think about it. Not that there's anything to think about.

There is a gym bag next to her, the strap still around her shoulder, slowly being covered by the snow, and Daryl takes it, flinging it over his head and then he does the same with his crossbow. He then slips his hands beneath the girl's frame and easily lifts her up in his arms. She's bundled up tight, that's for sure. That's good. Less likely that she's going to freeze to death. But still, he needs to get her into his warm cabin, get her out of these cold clothes and take a look at the cut on her head.

He turns and with Bullseye happily trotting at his side, continuously looking to the girl in Daryl's arms and wagging his tail at the sight of her, Daryl heads back for his cabin.

The snow seems to be falling heavier now and Daryl is going to be giving Bullseye a hell of a treat when they get back home for having sniffed this girl out and leading Daryl to her. Daryl might not know who she is, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't care and would want her freezing to death in the woods and her frozen body not being found until the spring thaw.

"Ah, shit," Daryl suddenly swears when he sees his cabin through the trees, straight ahead, a lamp glowing warmly in the front window, beckoning him home.

How in the hell is he going to get this girl's clothes off?

…

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 **Yes, in my mind, Daryl is definitely a dog person.**

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't even know what to say. The response to the first chapter completely blew me away and I was not expecting that. I honestly thought the Bethyl fandom was one that was quieting down. I'm so happy to be wrong! Daryl's POV will be in the next chapter.**

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…

 **Two.**

Goodness, she's hot. Ridiculously hot. She imagines that if she was ever set on fire, this is what it would feel like. Why is she so hot? _How_ is she so hot? The last thing she remembers, she was storming – as best as she could – away from Jimmy and right into a snowstorm. And now, she is clearly burning to death.

Has she died? Is she burning in Hell right now? No, she couldn't possibly. She's not perfect, obviously, but she's not been so awful in her life that God would punish her to eternal damnation.

But why else would she possibly be as hot as this? She is awake, but her eyes remain closed. She finds that she doesn't care about opening them right this second. She's in a bed. At least, she thinks she's in a bed because it's so soft beneath her. Had Jimmy come after her, after all? Had he carried her back to the cabin and had laid her out in bed? As much as she hadn't necessarily wanted to freeze to death in the snow, she doesn't really want to be stuck with him right now.

But she is definitely in _someone's_ bed. Someone's soft and burning hot bed that smells like…

Pine trees and simple soap.

Beth nearly finds herself wanting to roll over and bury her face into the pillow beneath her head. It's such a simple mixture of simple scents and she finds herself aching for something simple. She misses things being simple and why has she let things be anything, _but_ simple for her in her life?

She knows she's definitely nowhere near Jimmy right now. He likes cologne and has different bottles of different fragrances; sometimes wearing so much, it will make Beth cough though she always tries not to while he's within earshot. He'll just get insulted and believe it or not, they had had more than one argument that had begun just because she had coughed from his cologne.

But this simple mixture makes Beth keep her eyes closed as she took another whiff.

Still having no idea where she is, she knows that she should probably feel fear. _Someone_ has found her. _Someone_ has put her into a bed. She needs to open her eyes.

It takes a quite bit for Beth to gather the strength. She just feels so tired still and her head hurts even though the rest of her body feels completely relaxed. When she finally is able to peel her lids open and get a look at where she is, the first thing she seems able to focus on clearly, it tears a scream from her lips.

The massive black and grey wolf sitting on the bed with her seems to jump in surprise at her reaction and he leaps down from the bed with a jolt, running from the room.

And then a man is rushing through the door.

Beth scrambles to sit up and press herself against the headboard at the sight of him. She's never seen him before and he stops immediately in place when he sees that she's definitely awake. Neither say anything for a few seconds and Beth takes him in.

He's older than her – but just how old, she's not sure. Maybe late thirties. There are the faintest bags under his eyes and a few grey hairs in the scraggly facial hair at his chin. His hair is dark and a bit on the long side, covering the tips of his ears. He's wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, but despite that, Beth can see that he is a strong man. Easily stronger than her. _Much_ stronger.

For the first time, Beth now feels afraid. Who is this man and what is he going to do with her?

The man stands just inside the doorway, staring at her; as if he's getting his first look at her, too.

Something then occurs to Beth when her eyes catch something in the corner, behind him, and when she realizes what it is, her entire body goes still. Her clothes. Her blue jeans and the heavy cable knit sweater she had been wearing. Her socks and her boots…

Her eyes fly down to see what she is still wearing and she nearly sighs with relief. She's not naked, at least. She's wearing her black long underwear - both top and bottoms - still and she sees that there are at least three blankets on top of her in addition to the comforter that feels like it's filled with goose feathers. No wonder she feels as if she's boiling alive.

The man still hasn't said anything and Beth lifts her eyes to look at him again.

"I had to get you out of your first layers," he finally speaks; more like grunts. "Didn' want you to freeze to death when you got in here and the snow melted. I didn' see anythin'," he quickly adds.

His voice sounds rough and yet, it has Beth peering at him closely. It's quiet. He isn't speaking as if it is his intention to scare her.

Hearing a clink of chains and clicks on the hardwood floor, that same beast of a wolf appears in the doorway, looking at her, hesitantly coming to a stop next to the man. Both look at her and Beth stares at the wolf, swallowing nervously.

She's only seen a wolf up close like this once before. A wolf had gone after their cattle one year and her daddy and their farmhand, Otis, had managed to shoot it. Beth had just been a young girl then and she had half-hidden behind her mom as they brought the animal's body back with them. True wolves are much bigger than most dogs and they're wild and they're _mean_.

She remembers having heard a wolf howl earlier in the woods as she walked and Beth wonders if this is the wolf that she had heard and that had scared her even without being able to see it.

"This is Bullseye," the man says, following her eyes, and he lays a hand – almost a protective one – on top of the wolf's head. "He's the one who found you out there."

"Out there?" Beth finally hears herself speak.

The man nods once. "Out in the woods. You hit your head on somethin' and you were lyin' in the snow, out cold. What were you doin' out there?"

Beth thinks for a moment. Out in the woods? And knocked out? Well, that explains her headache, but still, the man is right. What was she doing out there?

"I was walking," she speaks her thoughts out loud, trying to get her mind to remember. "It started to snow and it was falling so fast, it was covering the road. I figured I was closer to the bottom of the road than the cabin so I kept walking down. I must have gotten off the road somehow…"

"The cabin?" The man asks.

Beth nods and swallows. Her body is still tense, but she has a feeling it's more because of the wolf staring at her than this complete stranger who had stripped her down to her underwear. That makes absolutely no sense to her. If she should be afraid of something right now – and there are so many things to be afraid of right now – this man should be at the top of the list.

She swallows again. "My boyfriend… he rented a cabin for the weekend, but we got into a fight and I… I stormed out."

"Not a very smart thing to do," the man feels the need to point out to her.

Beth gives him her fiercest frown, but the man doesn't seem to be intimidated at all. If anything, he almost looks amused and that just makes her frown more. "I know that," she states. "But I didn't know a snowstorm was coming and I couldn't stay there with him."

The man looks at her and all amusement has left his face. "Did he hurt you?" He asks and his voice is still quiet, but it's lower now and now, she feels scared, but oddly, not for herself. She feels scared for Jimmy because this man suddenly looks furious and she wonders what she has said that would cause his mood to swiftly change like that.

"Not in a physical way," Beth answers.

The man looks at her and then, after moment, the tension in his shoulders seem to relax – but just by a fraction. He still stands there, tense and braced.

"I must have tripped over something and hit my head," she concludes.

The man nods. "That's what I was thinkin'," he agrees. "How's it feelin'? I cleaned it up and put a Band-Aid over it, but it didn' seem like it needed anythin' else. But head wounds can be tricky."

Beth lifts her head to her forehead and sure enough, she feels a Band-Aid there. For the first time, she looks at the man with the wolf at his side and she gives him the smallest of smiles.

"Thank you," she says quietly. "And it feels alright. A little tender."

"Figured it would. I got some Aspirin for you to take. You feelin' hungry at all?" He asks.

And then, at just the mere _thought_ of eating anything, her completely empty stomach lets out a ravenous growl – so loud that both the man and wolf can hear and the wolf curiously cocks his head to the side at the sound. Beth feels her face flush warmly.

The man's amusement returns. "I got chicken noodle soup or spaghetti. You think you can hold down either?"

Beth nods and then instantly regrets it, her head suddenly spinning around her. She closes her eyes and tries to breathe through the sudden nauseous. "Yes," she answers weakly.

There is quiet for a moment.

"We'll start on soup," he decides.

"Do you have a bathroom?" She asks, slowly opening her eyes once more.

"No. Jus' piss in the woods," he smirks a little and she gives him a small smile once more.

It's not a smile. Definitely a smirk. And yet, Beth thinks it looks quite nice on this man's face.

He comes towards the bed; slowly, as if he doesn't want to scare her. Beth is sure to keep the small smile across her lips and she wonders why she _isn't_ afraid of this man; this complete stranger who has taken her back to his cabin and has stripped her down to her long underwear? She should be terrified. She watches enough Lifetime movies to know how this _could_ go.

So why isn't she?

This isn't like her. She's lived her entire life, a little on the too-cautious side. Maggie and her older brother, Shawn, have always teased her about it. While they go, tearing off like idiots and jumping headfirst into the lake from their dock, immediately screaming because the water is so cold, Beth is the one to sit on the dock for a few minutes with her feet kicking back and forth into the water until she's used to it before getting in.

She's never been the sort to jump without thinking about it from every single angle. She thinks about it _too much_ , and she's well aware of that, but that's just who she is.

So right now, why isn't she demanding a phone and trying to get out of here? There's a wolf in the room with her, for goodness sakes! If that's not making her haul her butt out of here… why on earth not? His eyes. There is something in his watery blue eyes that doesn't make her afraid. She has no idea what it is though because she doesn't know him and what could she possibly see in his eyes that would put her completely at ease like this?

The man gently moves the blankets and the goose-down comforter from her and she sees that there is a pair of socks on her foot – scratchy wool and too big for her and she looks at them and then to the man's face – quiet, but her question clear.

"If your feet are cold, the rest of you is cold and I had to get a pair of socks on you," he explains, his head turned as he avoids looking at her, and Beth swears that she can see the tips of his hear, poking through his hair, turning red.

"I'm Beth," she says.

The man's eyes move back to hers and she finds herself nearly holding her breath as she waits.

"Daryl," he then replies in that gentle grunt of his.

Daryl, she repeats the name to herself. She has no idea why – or why it would – but that name seems to fit this man perfectly.

…

She insists that she can walk to the bathroom by herself, but Daryl still stays close to her side, his hands hovering in the air near her, but never actually touching her.

The bathroom is connected to the bedroom and he reaches past her to flip the switch on the wall. She steps inside, but Daryl stays on the other side of the doorway, in the bedroom. She turns back towards him and he stands there, looking at her for a moment before glancing away, rubbing at the back of his neck as if he desperately needs something to do with his hands right then.

"'m gonna be in the kitchen. Right there," he says, pointing towards the open bedroom door. "If you need anythin'…" he trails off and when his eyes dart back to her, Beth gives him a soft smile.

"Thank you, Daryl. For everything," she says, as genuinely gracious and thankful as a person could ever sound. "I can't thank you enough for saving my life."

And that's exactly what he has done.

He could have found her out there, but just left her to freeze to death beneath the snow, but instead, he found her and brought her back and kept her warm and even put a Band-Aid on her. Perhaps that was why she wasn't more deathly afraid at this moment. This man saved her life. Did he do that just to bring her back to his cabin and murder her here? Seems like a lot of trouble to go through all of that.

Daryl just shrugs. "Was nothin'. Come on, Bullseye."

And without another look at her, he turns and leaves the bedroom and his wolf follows out after him and Beth closes the bathroom door behind her. There's no lock on the door, she notices, and then she thinks that he obviously lives by himself and why would he need a lock on this door.

There is no mirror in the bedroom, but there's one in here, above the sink, and when Beth turns and catches her reflection, she almost winces. There is a Band-Aid on her forehead, above her right eyebrow, and there seems to be a colorful bruise blooming there as well. Her hair, still in her braids, are both coming loose and becoming a tangled mess and despite the restful sleep she has been able to get, there are still circles beneath her eyes.

She sighs, but reminds herself for being unconscious in the woods, she could look much worse.

Beth turns to look at the rest of the small bathroom. A sink with a cabinet beneath that, a toilet, and a white bathtub. But it's not a full bathtub, Beth notes. A half-bath and Beth almost giggles at the idea of that big man on the other side of the door squeezing himself down in there and taking an actual bath in there. There is a large, dark blue towel hanging over the bar on the wall next to it and in the same wall as the showerhead, there is a built in shelf containing one bottle of shampoo, one bar of soap and one washcloth.

Going to the toilet, she relieves herself, nearly sighing as she realizes that her bladder is completely full and it feels actually wonderful to empty it once again.

She's surprised that the man actually has a soft toilet paper. For some reason, Daryl seems like the kind of man who would have one-ply. Maybe it's because he's living up here, in a cabin on a mountain with seemingly just a wolf for companionship.

After flushing, she goes to the sink and washes her hands from the bar of soap on a dish next to the faucet. It's the only thing on the small counter and after drying her hands on the towel hanging on the wall next to the sink, making sure it's folded as meticulously as it had been, Beth goes back to looking at her reflection.

She wonders if Daryl would mind if she uses his comb or brush… if he has either of those.

Biting on her lower lip, she pauses a moment before opening the mirror, revealing a medicine cabinet. She sees his toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a razor and a can of shaving cream – and she wonders how often he shaves because he has quite a bit of hair on his face – and one black plastic comb. He seems to be a man who certainly doesn't believe in having too many comforts.

Beth pulls the rubber bands from her braids and begins to comb out the knots, wincing every few seconds when the comb snags another one. But once her hair has a fresh part and her braids are once again neat and tight, she takes a deep breath. She almost feels like a human again.

She returns the comb, making sure none of her blonde strands are stuck in the teeth, and she looks around the room once more, making sure she hasn't left anything out of its place.

She thinks of her bathroom at home. Daryl would probably twitch if he saw it. Bottles lining the bathtub of different shampoos, conditions and body gels and the counter crowded with all sorts of different hair products and make-up. She's not a messy person. She just has a lot of things. Probably too many things, she thinks, now that she sees the way Daryl lives.

With one more deep breath, she turns and opens the bathroom door, looking into the bedroom.

Like the bathroom, it's a small room and yet, it seems like it's just the perfect size for what he needs. The bed is a queen size – probably so Bullseye can sleep on it as well – and a nightstand is next to the bed on what, Beth assumes is, Daryl's side with one lamp and a digital clock. She can see that it's just a little bit after nine o'clock. For being as restful as she feels, she's surprised to see that she's only been asleep – or knocked out – for just about three or so hours.

There is no closet, but there is a wardrobe made from heavy wood against the wall in the corner and another chest of drawers. There are two framed pictures on top of it and she can't help, but curiously walk to it, wanting to get a look at it though she knows she doesn't really have the right.

It's a group photograph of about fifteen people, taken in the woods somewhere, in front of a river, and they are all smiling and dirty. Beth's eyes scan for Daryl and she sees him at the end of the back row, that same slight smirk instead of a full smile across his lips. They are posing with a banner – _Georgia Bare, Season 1_.

 _Georgia Bare_. Beth knows that show. Shawn is absolutely crazy for it. So is Jimmy. It's a new survivalist show. Ten people dropped into the middle of the Georgia wilderness and forced to survive on basically nothing. The last person standing wins the money. Shawn talks about applying to be a contestant. It's like _Survivor_ , but not in exotic tropical locations.

Does Daryl work on _Georgia Bare_? He must. Why else would he be posing in this photograph?

The other picture is black and white and is of two boys – one a teenager and one younger, both with shot guns in their hands, an upside down dead deer carcass hanging between them.

The pictures are the only thing on the dresser top.

When she finally leaves the bedroom, it opens up into the rest of the cabin – the kitchen and living room one large room. Bullseye had been in the kitchen, crunching on kibble from a bowl on the floor, but when he sees that Beth has stepped into the room, the wolf comes trotting over.

Beth doesn't mean to, but she can't help, but stiffen as Bullseye sniffs at her leg. This is a _wolf_. He's obviously domesticated and Daryl has given him a name, but he's still a wolf and lying in her bed at the farm, listening to the wolves howling in the distance, they have always scared her.

Daryl is standing at the stove, stirring a large pot of what Beth assumes is chicken noodle soup, looks up and sees her completely stiff body and Bullseye sniffing her.

"Bullseye, come back 'ere," he orders the wolf and the beast listens, turning and trotting back to his bowl, resuming his late dinner. "You done snoopin' around in there?" Daryl then asks her.

Beth's eyes widen slightly. "I wasn't…" she trails off because that's exactly what she had been doing and both of them know it. "I'm sorry," she then says with a blush tainting her cheeks.

"Snow's still comin' down," Daryl brushes past her apology. "And it's supposed to snow all night, too. My phone ain't workin', but I'm gonna try and get down the mountain tomorrow in my truck." He turns and opens a cabinet, pulling down two bowls. "'m gonna sleep on the couch out here tonight and then tomorrow mornin', we'll try and get you out of here. You mind sleepin' here for the night?"

He looks at her and Beth doesn't hesitate in shaking her head – slower this time so the world doesn't spin around her this time. No, she doesn't mind and even if she did, what was another option for her? The only thing she can do is curse Jimmy Beauford-Butler right now – for both planning a weekend away when a snowstorm is predicted and for being an all-around jerk.

Thank goodness for Daryl.

She looks to the man as he starts spooning soup out into the two bowls.

Beth doesn't even know him, but thank goodness for him.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy Friday! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter for the weekend. I don't even know what to say about the response being given to this story already. I'm just feeling incredibly overwhelmed and humbled that this little random idea of mine is already loved by so many. Thank you an infinite amount of times.**

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…

 **Three.**

"Do you work on _Georgia Bare_?"

The question comes just as they sit down across from one another at the table with bowls of steaming chicken noodle soup and the last of his bread rolls before they get too hard to eat.

He lifts his head and looks at her sitting across from him. For the years he has lived here and has had this table with the two chairs, Daryl realizes that he has never had someone sitting down across from him for an actual meal. This girl, Beth, is the first and he sure as hell would have never thought that someone who looked like this girl would ever be sitting across from him.

"Yeah," he grunts, picking up his spoon and bowing his head close to the bowl, taking his first slurp. He lifts his eyes to see that she has picked up her spoon as well, but hasn't taken a sip of the soup yet. Maybe she isn't as hungry as her stomach had let on. "You watch it?" Daryl then heard himself ask and he wonders why he cared one way or the other.

He isn't the sort to try and make idle chat when there is a silence hanging in the air. Living out here, like he did, on his own, showed that he pretty much prefers the silence.

"I don't," Beth shakes her head and then he watches as her eyes widened – almost to a comical size. "I'm sorry! I… shouldn't I have told you that I do? Is it okay if I don't?" The words fall from her mouth quickly and Daryl looks at her as if maybe, he has never seen anything like her. And he guesses that that is the truth. He still can't really believe that he has found this girl out there in the snow and now, a couple hours later, she is here, sitting across from him.

Daryl gives a shrug. "'s a free country. You can watch whatever the hell you want," he grunts.

"My older brother absolutely loves it though," Beth then is quick to say; as if she has to assure him that she knows someone who watches the show.

Daryl can't help, but smirk into his soup as he slurps another spoonful. The show in its first season had been one of the biggest shows of the season – according to Michonne, the show's creator and co-producer. Being renewed for a second season had been obvious and inevitable. What was surprising to him was that he actually liked working on the show and he missed it once they wrapped filming for the first season and he has spent these past couple of months, ready to get back to it.

The contestants for the first season had been idiots. Well, most of them had been. The last three standing had been pretty good; pretty smart and the one who had won the whole thing at the end had been a guy who deserved it and if anyone else had won, Daryl wouldn't have liked it. For the second season, the studio that aired _Georgia Bare_ had been flooded with applications of those who want to compete. They chose thirty finalists to bring into the studio to tape them and ask them further in-depth questions. They don't need some psycho off his meds competing and Michonne and Milton, the other co-producer, had called Daryl for him to come and see some of those tapes.

Yep, idiots, too.

But Daryl supposes that they need idiots. It wouldn't be fair to anyone if they had some survivalist like him competing for the half-a-million dollar prize. There wouldn't be a competition and who would want to watch a show when it's obvious on the first episode who's going to win?

Also, Daryl supposes they need idiots or otherwise, he's out of a job.

"You lookin' to compete or somethin'?" He asks before another slurp of soup.

That's something he still has yet to get used to. It's a small town and just about everyone knows he works on the show and people he has never spoken with a day in his life have begun coming up to him, asking him if he can put a good word in for them because they want to be on the show and try to win themselves the money prize.

"Goodness, no," Beth shakes her head as quickly as she can without making herself dizzy.

Daryl wonders why he feels relieved at her answer, but he just ignores it. Even if her answer had been different, it isn't like he'd do her any favors.

"I would be so terrible on that show," Beth continues. "My sister and brother call me too much of a girl. As if that's the worst insult I can be called. But I know already that I would use poison oak to wipe or something like that and I don't feel like having my stupidity aired for everyone in the country to see."

Daryl takes a gulp of water. "Had a few people do that on this first season already."

"See?" She gives him a little smile. "There'd be nothing special about me."

Daryl looks at her sitting across from him and for some reason, he wants to tell her that he doubts that, but he's able to swallow the words down before he makes an ass of himself and speaks them out loud for her to hear. Probably would make her uncomfortable as hell and Daryl would be right there with her.

"What do you do on the show?" Beth then asks.

Daryl lifts his eyes and watches as she dunks a chunk of the roll into the soup and then takes a bite, her own eyes on him as she waits for his answer.

He almost tells her that he likes to eat silently. Everything in his life, when it's just him and Bullseye, is silent, but then he reminds himself. This girl doesn't know him. She doesn't even know where she is. All she knows is that she's wearing long underwear and sitting across from a man she has never see before, eating soup in his cabin. Looking at things from her point of view, Daryl understands why she would be a bit nervous; even terrified.

He supposes he can assure her that he's not going to hurt her, but he's already put a Band-Aid on her forehead. What else does she need from him?

"I make sure that none of 'em get themselves killed," Daryl answers simply.

"Oh," Beth says though he has the feeling that she doesn't really understand that, but she doesn't speak again and Daryl isn't going to give her more of an answer.

They eat in silence and Daryl can't help, but lift his eyes after minute or so to look at her through the hair hanging in his face. She eats slowly; carefully, and not a drop of soup dribbles on her chin. He's suddenly very aware of how he slurps his soup.

With him watching her, he sees the way that she is looking around the room and he can't help, but wonder what she is thinking when she sees the rest of his cabin. He knows that she had gone through the bathroom and bedroom – even if she had been quiet while doing it. He just assumes that she had because she doesn't know him or where she is and she probably just wanted to make sure he isn't keeping body parts of an arsenal of knives around. Can't be pissed at her for that.

Daryl likes to live simply. He always has. He doesn't see the need to have a lot of things. People have too much stuff crammed into their houses and only use one-third of it. It's all a waste. Daryl just buys what he absolutely needs.

The living room and kitchen is one big room. In the living room, he's got the couch and a recliner and a coffee table in front of the couch. A couple of tables with a couple of lamps and the fireplace. He has a television, but it's an old box with rabbit ears and he rarely turns it on. Especially up here, he gets a fuzzy picture more times than not, but he admits to watching _Georgia Bare_ when a new episode aired each week and he always sat through the end credits because – again, he admits – he always got a surge of pride at seeing his name scroll past.

He's still getting used to that – feeling proud of himself for something he's done.

He has nothing on the fireplace mantel, but he's got a two-shelf bookshelf filled with books. Nothing much else to do up here in the cold months when he's not hunting or seeing to the cabin's maintenance.

The kitchen's got the usual sink, oven, microwave and refrigerator as well as some extra counter space and the table he has is square and made from heavy wood with two matching chairs. The cabinets and pantry are both completely stocked though. As a member of Costco, Daryl buys in bulk to bring up to the cabin. It's the smartest thing to do – living in the middle of nowhere like this; especially with the weather the way it is right now.

The only things he buys from the grocery store at the base of the mountain is his milk, bread and eggs. Hell. He even buys his socks and boxers in bulk from Costco.

When he looks back to Beth, he sees that she is sitting stiff now in the chair, not moving, and without having to think about why or see the reason, Daryl snaps his fingers.

"Bullseye."

The wolf leaves from sniffing at Beth's feet and comes out from under the table, plopping himself obediently down next to Daryl's chair. He gives the wolf the rest of his dinner roll as a treat.

Daryl then looks to Beth across from him. "He ain't gonna hurt you," he tells her.

Beth shifts a little in her chair. "He's a wild animal," she reminds him.

Daryl just shrugs at that. He's not stupid enough to ever forget that Bullseye is a wild wolf, but he's _his_ wild wolf. "Have had him since he was a pup. Hasn't bitten me yet. He's the one who found you out there," he then reminds her.

"I know," she replies quietly, but doesn't say anything past that.

They finish eating their soups in silence and when he's done and sees that she is, too, Daryl stands up and takes both bowls and spoons, heading towards the sink. From the corner of his eye, he sees Beth stand up, fiddling with her fingers in front of her.

"Can I help?" She offers.

"Nah," Daryl shakes his head and begins filling the sink with hot water.

She hesitates for a moment and then Daryl watches as she walks towards the large front window. Its pitch black outside and all she can see is her own reflection from the light behind her.

"Worried about your boyfriend?" Daryl hears himself ask.

"God, no," Beth answers with a shake of her head and she turns back towards him. "Jimmy can take care of himself. And besides, he has two bottles of champagnes in the cabin to occupy him."

"'s long as he doesn't burn the place down," Daryl says, back to grunting.

Beth is quiet a moment. "Is that cabin yours? The one Jimmy rented," she clarifies as if she needs to. Daryl doesn't answer; just gives a head nod. "What little I saw of it, it's beautiful. It's…" she trails off and it's obvious that she's thinking of how to say what she wants to and Daryl nods as he scrubs at their bowls with his washcloth.

He knows without her having to say it. His second cabin is a hell of a lot nicer than this one. A lofted bedroom, a sunken bathtub, a kitchen with granite counter tops. He bought it and fixed it up like that on purpose; knowing that people vacationed plenty in these mountains all of the time. He didn't need granite counter tops in his kitchen, but people getting away for a weekend might.

"Well," Beth clears her throat then. "It's very beautiful."

"Thanks," Daryl says and shakes off the bowl before placing it into the drying rack next to the sink and getting started on washing the second. He lifts his eyes and looks to Beth again. Now, she has gone over to his bookshelf and sinking to her knees, she begins looking over his book titles.

It's strange, having someone else in the cabin with him. It's just him and Bullseye. Been that way for three years now. It isn't that he feels uncomfortable with Beth here, but she's a complete stranger and he's glad he's found her, but it's still strange having another person here with him.

He glances towards the clock on the microwave. Almost ten. He looks back to Beth as she has stood up from looking over the bookshelf and has turned back to the window. He feels like he's ready to collapse in exhaustion and he's not even the one who knocked himself out today.

Without a word, he dries his hands on the towel and then heads into the bedroom, going to his dresser. He takes out a clean white tee-shirt – also bought in bulk from Costco – and a pair of sweatpants. He then goes into the bathroom, closing the door so he can take a piss and get changed to go to sleep.

He wonders if he'll actually be able to get down the mountain tomorrow. He sure as hell is going to try, but – and he won't tell Beth this – but he doubts he'll be successful. The snow hasn't stopped falling for hours now and if it's going to be keeping up like this over the night, well… he might have to go on the roof tomorrow and shovel some of it off.

He thinks of Beth out in his living room. He doesn't even know this girl and now, she might be stuck here with him and Bullseye for who knows how long. And she seems nice enough, but that doesn't mean that he actually wants her here for what can possibly be _days_. He likes being by himself. It's why he lives all the way out here – by himself. There's no way he will be able to be comfortable in his own home for as long as she's here.

First thing tomorrow. He's getting dressed as soon as it's light enough out and he's going to see just what he has to do to get her out of here and on her way back to her own home.

Outside the bathroom, Daryl sees Beth standing in the living room, not moving, clearly waiting for him. Daryl glances at her before turning and going into the little room he has off the kitchen with his stacked washer and dryer unit. After dumping his clothes into the plastic laundry basket on the floor, he takes a deep breath as if preparing himself and steps back out.

Beth is still standing there and she's already looking at him. She's fiddling with her fingers once again in front of her. "I can sleep on the couch," she then says. "You shouldn't have to give up your bed for me. It's _your_ bed."

Daryl looks at her for a moment, silently.

Christ, he wonders how old she is because standing there in her black long underwear with her hair in braids and a Band-Aid on her forehead, his too-big socks on her feet, and she looks like a kid. Just a kid and he suddenly wonders if her family is going to call the police and then he'll be arrested for kidnapping this little girl.

He really needs to try to get down the mountain tomorrow.

"I'm not the one with a head wound," Daryl answers.

Beth's fingertips lightly touched the Band-Aid. "It's hardly a head wound."

"Knockin' yourself out and bleedin' in the snow counts as a head wound. You're takin' the bed."

They stare at one another for a passing minute; a showdown at high noon like those old movies.

Beth breaks first. She sighs softly. "Fine. But just for tonight," she then is quick to add. "I mean, I'm only going to be here for _one_ night anyway."

Daryl doesn't say anything to that and after a moment, Beth, reluctantly turns to the bedroom. He goes to the front door and makes sure it's locked though really, what's the point, and he begins turning off the lamps. He had started a fire in the fireplace a couple of hours before and he tosses another log onto the fire, blazing the flames back to full height, and then he goes to collapse on the couch, grabbing the blanket he has draped over the back of it.

Bullseye comes and drops himself into a heap on the floor next to the couch. Daryl drops his hand down and scratches the wolf behind his ear as he lays there, blinking up at the ceiling. He listens to the fire pop and crack and the room is dark except for the fire. And with the snow outside, the night is quiet, too. Not even an owl is hooting.

And because it's so quiet and Daryl is just lying there, not able to fall asleep even though he feels completely drained, he's able to hear Beth softly crying in the next room.

He swallows a sudden lump he finds to be lodged in his throat and he wonders if he should do anything. Maybe go and ask if she's alright.

But he's not going to do that. She probably thinks he can't hear her. And she _is_ crying quietly. She just doesn't know that his hearing is better than most. He'll let her cry and not get up to see to her. She'll probably be embarrassed. Daryl knows that that was how he always felt if someone used to even _think_ that he had been crying – embarrassed and angry – and being the son of Will Dixon, most people would think that that was reason enough to break down in tears.

He wonders what reason's got her crying right now. Is it because of the fight she had with her boyfriend? Is she scared because she's in some cabin with a complete stranger? Is it Bullseye? Is she afraid that the wolf is going to tear her to shreds as she sleeps or is she scared that if she falls asleep, Daryl is going to climb on top of her and violate her?

She was passed out for two hours in his bed and he never touched her except to get her out of her cold clothes and to clean up the cut on her head.

Unless… does she think that he had already done something more to her when she had been out cold and she just doesn't know?

Daryl frowns at that. He would never do something like that to a woman – unconscious or not. The thoughts don't even cross his mind; let alone give him an urge to do anything.

Before he can get angry though, he reminds himself that Beth doesn't know that because she doesn't know him. She doesn't know anything about him. She's a girl – a young and little thing – and she's in a cabin on a mountain with a man and his wolf.

Daryl exhales a sigh. No wonder she's crying. Girl is scared out of her mind and she's got every reason to be. Daryl knows he really needs to try and get down that mountain tomorrow morning – not just for him so he can get his space back to himself, but so Beth can feel safe again.

…

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 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


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